Blind
by Chaos Of A Butterfly
Summary: Eight years after Push, Jumper happens. With Roland dead, the Paladins make a new ally; The Division. Nick, Cassie, and Kira are now being hunted by Paladins and Divsion, and Cassie has a clue to how they can win. They need to get help from jumpers. Specificaly, David and Griffin. But Griffin hates David. And he has every right to. Better than summary! Eventual Griffin/Cassie
1. A Message from Unknown

**Wolfie: Okay, so this is a Jumper/Push crossover, because that just works. And the events of Jumper happened 8 years after the events of Push, making Cassie 21. So this is David/Millie (established), Nick/Kira (established), and (don't question it) Griffin/Cassie. Griffin is like 24-ish.**

**Full Summary: With Rolland dead, the Paladins have a new plan; since they can't beat the jumpers as Paladins, they will figure out what makes the jumpers be able to jump. This leads them to make an unlikely ally; the Division. They are gonna help Division find Cassie, Nick, and Kira (who are engaged). Cassie, Nick, and Kira, who are now being hunted, find help in new allies; David and Mille, who are also running. Only thing is, now they need help. They need help from someone who isn't gonna help them; someone who hates David. Griffin. **

**Very Griffin centric. Cause he's ADORABLY SEXY!**

**Also, I stole FireflyCity's idea of quotes.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own nuthing but Aaron Johnson. And the idea. I wish, however, that I owned the sexy British beast that is Jamie Bell, but alas, I do not.**

Oo0oO

_There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable mystery. _

_~Joseph Conrad_

Oo0oO

Artificial lights seem brightest at night. They light the city up in a neon glow, creating an unreal, polluted look. They create shadows; make even the most normal things- a lamppost, a street sign- have an unusual gleam to them. Add to that a steady downpour of rain, and you get an otherworldly, almost creepy feel.

At the edge of the city, near the nicer, downtown area, was a series of long, shorter brick buildings. These were the new apartments, built for the convenience of the people who lived in New York City.

A lone figure stood in front of the apartment complex, holding a cup of coffee in each hand, a notepad tucked under their arm. After a moment's hesitation, they entered the building.

Oo0oO

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Nick moaned at the noise. It felt way too early for someone to be knocking at their door, and after a quick glance at the alarm clock, he knew that he was right. Nobody should want to come see him at 3 am.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

"Nick…is that our door..?" Kira yawned, slowly waking up.

"Uhhhh…yeah…." Nick rolled out of bed. "I'm getting it." Glancing down at himself, he grabbed his robe before slowly making his way across his and Kira's apartment towards the door.

Opening it, he blinked a few times. A young blonde woman stood in front of the door, her arm poised as if to knock again. She had long, wavy blonde hair pulled back in a messy bun, fading colors running in streaks down her hair. She was wearing a black leather jacket, red tank top, black cutoff shorts, and combat boots. Tucked under one arm was a notepad, and she had two coffee cups balanced in the hand not raised.

Cassie immediately let herself in. "Hi Nick. Sorry for waking you up." She walked over to his dinette, setting the coffee cups and notepad on the table. "Nice apartment."

His apartment was cozy. The living room was to the left of the front door, a TV set up on the wall of the door, and a comfy, well loved white leather sofa on the opposite wall. The adjacent wall was covered in windows, and had a window seat. There was a giant black and white photo of a city above his couch. To the right of the door was his kitchen and dinette, a counter/bar separating the two. Cassie also knew that if you went down the hall there was an office, as well as Nick and Kira's bedroom.

"Not to be rude, but what do you want, Cassie? It's been what, a year since we've seen you? And you show up in the middle of the night…" Nick yawned.

"Sorry about that. I brought you coffee." She handed him one of the cups. "I brought Kira one too…I have some bad news."

Nick sighed, and went to go get Kira.

Oo0oO

"So you're saying that the Division has paired up with some new group called Paladins, who've been around for centuries, and now they're experimenting on us as well as some other new people like us called jumpers?" Kira asked. It was close to an hour later, and Cassie had just finished explaining to Nick and Kira what she had seen in her vision.

"Yeah. And that's not the worst part."

"What's the worst part?" Nick asked.

"This." She pulled out her notepad and turned it around, allowing them to see what she'd drawn. On the page was a crude drawing of her, Kira, and Nick, as well as two other people. All of them were dead.

"…you're drawing skills haven't improved much." Nick joked. "Who are the other two?"

"This," Cassie pointed to the man, "is David. He's a jumper. And this," she pointed to the girl, "is his girlfriend Millie. We all die if we don't find them."

Nick sighed. "Great. Now we have to go on some scavenger hunt for people we don't even know the last names of. Is there anything else?" He asked sarcastically.

Cassie nodded. "Yeah. They're gonna be here," She flipped the page to the Empire State Building. "in three days.." She paused, opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again.

Kira yawned. "Since it's 4 o'clock in the morning," she yawned again, "I'm going back to bed. Nick..?"

Nick nodded. "I'll be right there. Just give me a minute. Cassie, I'll pull some blankets out for you and you can stay on the couch."

Cassie smiled. "Thanks."

After getting Cassie settled in on his couch, Nick sat down at the end of it. "What else is there?"

"Nothing…" Cassie paused, "Why would you think there was anything else?"

"Cassie, I _know_ you. You're hiding something. What is it?"

"….there is another thing. I keep seeing this guy, and I don't know how he fits in. Here," she reached to the coffee table, grabbing her notepad and flipping to another page, one he hadn't seen before. On it was a carefully drawn (and slightly better) picture of a young man. He had messy, wild brown hair, a leather jacket, and black jeans. "I wrote everything I know about him on the back." Cassie yawned.

Nick smiled softly. "Get some sleep Cassie." He gently patted her leg, before standing up and- taking the notepad with him- walking out into the hallway.

He flipped the page. 'British, crazy(?), adorably sexy, KNOWS DAVID!' He looked over at Cassie, smiling softly. "Adorably sexy?" He raised an eyebrow, flipping back to the picture. "….whatever you say.."

Oo0oO

**Wolfie: In case you didn't know, the 'weird hot sexy British guy' is GRIFFIN! :D Please review…**


	2. Top of the World

_Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.  
__~ Lao Tzu_

Oo0oO

It was a peaceful night- at least, as peaceful as L.A. can be a night. There was still plenty of city noise, but to those who were used to it, it was considered quiet. It wasn't, however, the type of peaceful quiet that compels people to leave windows open for air, seeing as that would also bring in the unnecessary smog- or haze, as the people of L.A. insisted on calling it.

A series of tall, modern looking apartment structures loomed over the street, creating long strips of shadows. Standing to the side of one of the buildings, looking up to the top of them, was a shadowy figure. They nodded to themselves before disappearing into the shadow.

A cool breeze gently swept in through the large, beautiful bay window, filling the spacious, modern looking room with cool air and quiet noise. It rustled the various potted plants scattered around the room and fingered the cords dangling from the large, wall-mounted flat screen TV before settling around the two inhabitants of the large king size bed.

The larger inhabitant of the bed stirred, half awake, before paranoia and an acute sense of something being wrong kicked in.If cold air was coming in, it could only come from one place:_ the window. _

David specifically remembered closing it the day before, having read that it was going to be cold during the night. He immediately shot up, turning to see if the window was, indeed, open. It was.

"Millie..? Did you open the window last night?"

"Hmm?" Millie sat up sleepily, yawning. "What…?"

"Did you open the window last night?" David repeated, getting out of bed and shutting the object in question (pulling the drapes closed as well), before going over to their bedroom door and locking it.

"No…why? David, it's too early for this…" Millie laid back down.

"The window was open, and I specifically remember shutting it. So if you didn't open it…" He trailed off, leaving the implications open.

"Well, then, check to see if something's been changed. David, we live in a penthouse. No one could climb up here, and you're still alive, so it wasn't a Paladin." Millie reasoned, getting up to sit on the edge of the bed and look around the room. "What's that?" She pointed to the flat top of their tall dresser, which was empty save for a single piece of paper.

David went over and picked it up, then frowned. "It's a drawing." He brought it over to her.

It was a detailed drawing of the Empire State Building, with the words 'Be there- three days time, 8 am, top deck' scrawled across the side.

"Should we go?" Millie asked, frowning worriedly.

David sighed. "…probably. We should see who they are and what they want."

Oo0oO

Two days later they were in New York. David had reserved them a room at the Embassy Suites in Times Square, and they'd jumped at around 8 o'clock at night.

They soon found themselves in their hotel, not feeling the least bit tired (time differences and all), so they decided to go down to their hotel's pool. It was empty, surprisingly. The large, rectangular indoor swimming pool glistened in the light, completely undisturbed. The only noise came from the ever-running Jacuzzi, which was bubbling.

They'd been swimming for a little while before David felt that prickling sensation, the one you get when someone is staring at you. A quick glance around the room, however, proved them to be alone; perhaps he really was just paranoid.

That didn't stop him from keeping watch the rest of the night.

Oo0oO

The next day found them up bright and early to go to the Empire State Building. They made sure to get there right when it opened, and they found themselves lounging around the top deck, waiting. Millie had walked around to the other side, wanting to get pictures of all the views. David was waiting on the side with the door, leaning on the rail, remembering the time he came up here with his mom.

"Hello David." David immediately turned at the voice, surprised. It was one of the last people he thought he'd see.

"Hello Griffin."

Oo0oO

**Wolfie: Okay, so thank you to my amazing friend FireflyCity, as well as BlackWolfe, for reviewing! Sorry this chapter is short.**

**8.21.12: I changed the airplane thing, since they didn't need to take one…**

**This chapter is pretty much set **_**during**_** the prologue. Please review…I'll try and get updates out sooner, but I've been SUPER busy, so **_**nothing**_** has been updated. Also, the drawing is the picture I'm using for the cover of this story. **


	3. Coming Together

_Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success._  
-Henry Ford

Oo0oO

Nick awoke to someone shaking him. That, in and of itself, was highly unusual, but even more so was the fact that when he woke up, Kira was gone, and all his windows were open.

"Uhhh.." He muttered something incoherently, rolling over.

_Smack. _A slap to the face woke him up, and he found himself face to face with Cassie.

"Wha…what was that for?" He asked groggily, pushing himself up.

Cassie smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but you need to get up. We need to go to the Empire State Building now, or we'll lose our window of opportunity."

"…wait, what?" Nick asked, not really comprehending. "Window of…ohh…" He fell silent as the events of the previous night came crashing down on him. "Right."

Oo0oO

Griffin smirked, walking up till he was standing next to the rail beside David. "You sound surprised. Like maybe you thought I was dead?"

"Griffin…" David said warningly. He really didn't want to talk about that, knowing it would only end in a fight…which he really didn't want to do again. He knew that he'd only gotten lucky the last time. "Why did you bring me here?"

Griffin raised an eyebrow. "I didn't bring you here."

David sighed internally, figuring that Griffin was just being difficult. "Griffin." David growled angrily. "Why did you give me the note that said to come here?"

There was a pause. "I didn't." Griffin turned his head towards David, a frown forming. "I was gonna ask you why the fuck you brought me here…"

A shocked look flitted across David's face. "…you didn't? But I got a note…"

Griffin couldn't help but smirk that time. "Like this one?" He pulled out a note almost identical to the one that David had.

Oo0oO

"So do you know what they look like?" Nick asked Cassie as entered the top deck of the Empire State Building.

"Sort of…" Cassie trailed off. "They shouldn't be too hard to find. Just…I don't know, wait here while I go find them quick."

Nick nodded, walking over to the edge and looking outward. Kira walked into the gift shop, looking at some things, when suddenly someone bumped into her.

"Hey watch it!"

Kira raised an eyebrow at the rude audacity of the guy, as well as the distinctive British accent. Before she could reply, however, the guy was gone. Kira shook her head. "That was weird…" She then stopped for a minute, frowning. She felt like there was some critical thing that she'd just missed, and now she was the butt of some great big cosmic joke.

Oo0oO

Cassie looked around, before finally spotting them. David (She was pretty sure that was his name) was leaning against the rail talking to his girlfriend. Cassie looked over at Nick, got his attention, and nodded at David and Millie. Time to work.

"Hi…are you David?" Cassie asked, putting a 'nice girl' smile on her face.

"Yeah..who are you?" David said, his already present frown deepening when Nick walked up.

"…my name's Cassie. This is Nick." Cassie smiled brightly. Nick tried not to frown at the guy.

"…how do you know me…?" David glanced at Millie, and she immediately started walking away, towards the gift shop.

"…it's better if we talk about this somewhere more…private." Nick interjected before Cassie could say anything, knowing she would just immediately start talking about Jumpers and Paladins and the Division.

Oo0oO

**Wolfie: So, here's the next chapter, which I honestly had a really hard time writing. Sorry it's so short….please review? Also, terribly sorry it took so long. And sorry if David seems OOC, but he's so stupid..it makes him hard to write…which is why this took so long…**


	4. Death and Good Intentions

_Trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it's broken, but you can still see the crack in that mother fucker's reflection.  
_-Lady Gaga

Oo0oO

After much consideration, Nick decided that Cassie was magic. How else would she have been able to convince these two random strangers- David and Millie- that everything she said was true? She was magic. And after a conversation about it, Kira agreed with him.

Cassie laughed when he told her that, and said it was all about persuasion. Just because he wasn't persuasive doesn't mean that she couldn't be.

However, as they were all sitting around Nick's coffee table, eating sandwiches and getting to know each other, Cassie brought up the British guy.

"…a British guy? Is he kinda short, with spiky-ish hair, a leather jacket, and a seemingly bad attitude?" David asked. Cassie frowned; David seemed almost nervous-like.

"Yeah…why?"

"…..I know him. His name's Griffin. I don't have a last name, and probably never will." David ran his fingers through his hair nervously.

Nick frowned and exchanged a look with Cassie. Something seemed….off. "What'd make you think that?"

"….the last time we saw each other…." David trailed off, looking at Millie. Millie nodded for him to continue, having no idea what he was supposed to say. "…the last time we saw each other, I may have left him for dead….."

Oo0oO

Anger is like a wound. If left to itself, it will fester and become worse. And that was exactly what happened. The anger was all he had; a defense mechanism again everyone that had ever tried to hurt him. And so he used it, letting it fester and simmer just under the surface of his skin.

He'd actually expected to die that day. He'd sort of let his anger go, instead resigning himself to a long, arduous death. And the death he'd imagine would have been preferable to all the needles, and whips, and chains, and scalpels, and fucking scientists with their never-ending tirade of questions. They pissed him off, but not quite as much as David did.

For it was David fucking Rice's fault he was in this mess. David Rice's fault he'd spent two and a half fucking weeks hanging in a net of electrical wires, before some batshit crazy psycho government group called The Division (or some Twilight Zone, weird shit like that) found him. Apparently they were very interesting in the Paladins Enemy Number One. A title he'd always been proud of.

The biggest problem was that by the time they found him, he was so fucking worn out that he felt just the tiniest bit of relief. Of course, that relief lasted only until he realized just who they were and what they wanted. Then all he felt was a simmering rage; rage at the Paladins, rage at Roland, rage at Millie, that fucking little bitch that David felt the need to ruin everything for, rage at the world, for fucking him over again and again, and rage at David fucking Rice, for ruining everything just when things were starting to look up.

And that rage kept him going through chains and whips, through electric shocks and fucking scientists that wanted to cut him open, and through weeks and weeks of thinking that he would never get out.

His rage told him to throw David off the fucking Empire State Building as soon as he saw him. And he would have, if Adrian fucking Ansdorff hadn't been there. He almost hadn't seen him, but at the last second he turned, and that bloody Rolex watch shone in his eye. He hated that watch. That watch, which he saw in his fucking nightmares, was part of that hand, the hand which beat, and maimed, and left its mark.

Adrian hadn't seen him, and he needed to keep it that way. He couldn't be caught again. So he left, and David Rice got away.

But he ran into David Rice again, he would make him suffer. Make him suffer for every moment he had to suffer at the hands of the Division.

Oo0oO

**A/N: So..here's the next chapter...sorry this took so long. One of my guinea pigs died the day after Christmas, and took my muse with it. So while new story ideas are coming, there's no follow through. Also, I have no idea where this is going…**

** And yes, I'm being all mysterious and cruel to Griffin. **

** Also, I'm sorry for how short it is and for the lack of Nick/Kira/David/Millie/Cassie interaction, but I'm tired and not feeling up to writing the idiocy that is David.**

**BlackWolfe****: Really glad you love my story, and I'm working on making the chapters longer.  
****FireflyCity****: YES! FOR ONCE. I ACTUALLY HAVE A PLAN! A CONCRETE PLAN! =D And thanks…David is so infuriating… and I wrote that forever ago, and now I have no plan again….. D:**


	5. Decisions of the Past

"_It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped."_

-Tony Robbins

Oo0oO

"…start from the beginning. Don't leave anything out." Nick didn't even have to raise his voice for David to understand just how serious he was. David sighed.

"It's kind of a long story."

"We'll make time." Cassie said. "Talk."

"I suppose you could say it started when I was 15. I had the biggest crush on Millie," He turned to smile at her, "and I bought her this snow globe. This asshole, Mark Kobold, threw it out on this frozen lake. Being the idiot that I was, I went out to get it." David paused a minute, taking a breath. "The ice broke. All I remember is one minute, I was freezing cold, unable to breathe and the next, I was in the public library. That was the first time I 'jumped'. My father…he was an alcoholic, and my mother left when I was five. I found out later she was a Paladin. But anyways…I was unhappy, and so I ran. I did stupid things- stole money from banks, other things like that. I spent 8 years living my life however I felt like. But when I was 23, the Paladins- specifically, their leader, Roland- found me. He tried to kill me. I ran- again- and ended up back in my home town. I got Millie to come with me to Rome." He paused, looking at everyone around him. "I wasn't the brightest bulb on the planet. I 'jumped' us into the Colosseum. That's when I met Griffin. He hunts Paladins- he was there to fight the ones hunting me. I ended up in an Italian jail, but my mother helped me escape. I sent Millie home. I ended up finding Griffin, and we were going to kill Roland. Roland attacked my Dad- he's in a hospital still. I went to get Millie, and brought her to Griffin. The Paladins ended up finding us." David paused, looking down. "They took Millie. Griffin….he wanted to blow them up.I wouldn't let him- not while they had you." He turned to Millie. "I'm not particularly proud of what I did, but I had to. He would have killed you."

"What did you do?" Nick asked.

"The thing you have to understand is, electricity stops us from being able to jump. So I…." He trailed off for a moment, turning away from everyone and getting up, gpoing over to the window situated behind Nick's couch. "I jumped Griffin into a set of collapsing electrical wires in Chechnya. I left him hanging there to go save you." He turned towards Millie.

There was a moment of silence as everyone took that in, before Cassie let a sardonic laugh escape her lips. "Great. Frickin great. Now we have to convince him to help us, when the last time the two of you met, you left him for dead." Nick ran his fingers through his hair, agitated. Kira put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Millie just stared at David. "You left him to die?"

"What else was I supposed to do?" David asked, half yelling at her. "Roland was going to kill you, and Griffin just wanted to blow everything to fucking Timbuktu!"

"What I want to know is, if you can't jump with electricity in your veins, how did he escape?" Cassie asked, a thoughtful expression on her face. Then her face went blank for a moment, before she grabbed her sketchbook and started drawing.

"What…" David trailed off, watching her.

"She's seeing something." Nick clarified. "Just wait a moment."

Soon enough, Cassie was done with her sketch. Everyone immediately crowded around, and was horrified by what they saw.

Cassie's sketch was great, but anyone could see what it was. There was a man- it was unclear who he was-tied to what appeared to be a slanted operating table. Now there were two other things to be noticed. One was a man standing over him- his only defining feature being a watch on his wrist- holding some sort of device. The other was a series of gashing along the man's stomach; one of which appeared to be still open, with a series of what seemed to be plugs coming out of it.

"Who is he?" Millie asked, unable to keep the horror from creeping into her voice.

"Who do you think?" Cassie asked sarcastically, added spiky, messy hair to the figure on the table. "The man of the hour. Maybe this answers my question as to how he escaped- he didn't. At least, I don't think this qualifies as escaping."

Oo0oO

"Answer one fucking question for me." The man stated, his voice low and dangerous. "Did I, or did I not, specifically say I wanted Griffin fucking O'Conner monitored at all times?!"

"You did, sir." The other man answered softly, bowing his head.

"Right. So tell me this then. WHY THE FUCK WASN'T HE BEING MONITORED WHEN HE ESCAPED?!" The man was livid, looming over the other man, left hand raised as though to strike him.

The other man cowered. "He was sedated with eight different narcotics, had wires hooked to three different places, an electrical monitor telling us is he so much as moved an inch, and a foot long slice going down his stomach. We didn't really think-"

"Exactly. You didn't think. This is the man who not even Roland fucking Cox could kill, and you thought you could keep him here?!" The man raised his other hand, the right one, and before the other man could even register what was happening, he'd shot him straight through the skull. The only thing that the man- now dead- had registered was a Rolex; a Rolex that was impossible to forget, with the engravings all along it.

Oo0oO

**A/N: ….I'm sorry this took so long. My only excuse? This year was my introduction to the real world, and the real world decided to play unfairly. Oh well. Now I'm back on my feet, my writers block is over, I figured out how to write David, and all is well. I promise it won't take as long next time. Please review?**


	6. Feeling

"_It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace."_

- Chuck Palahniuk, 'Diary'

Oo0oO

"Fuck." Griffin stared down at his mess of a stomach, grimacing- not just from the pain, but from the way it looked, too. The cuts, bruises, bandages, and the way his ribs poked out. None of it looked good. "Fuck."

He walked- read; limped- over to his 'pantry', glancing around him as he did so. He never did like this home as much. It was in deep in the mountains, but that wasn't the problem. The problem wasn't the cold, either; he'd heated his cave. The problem was that he'd never really liked the feel of America, and Montana was no exception.

It wasn't a bad cave though. The entrance was a slim opening in the wall, and was hidden by a waterfall- a small one, mind you. There was his couch- worn and brown, but comfortable- his TV, which was hooked up to the generator hidden deeper in the mountain (just like his heating, running water, and lights), a pile of video games sitting next to the TV, and his safe. The opposite wall was dedicated to all his information on the Paladins, the Division, Roland, Mary Rice, Adrian fucking Ansdorff, and David. Because now he wasn't just hunting the Paladins and the Division; he was hunting David, too.

On the last wall was his makeshift bed, the old trunk with what little clothes he had, his armory (which took up most of the wall), and his 'kitchen'. It wasn't really a kitchen, just a small table, chair, microwave, makeshift pantry, and fridge.

Having reached his destination (the 'pantry'), he pulled out of bottle of bourbon- he never really like bourbon, and so he only kept it to sterilize things. Peeling off the bandages wrapped around his stomach, he couldn't help but wince at how blood-soaked they were. He inspected the stitches. As he thought, they were ripped. He couldn't contain his sigh. It was going to be a long fucking day.

Oo0oO

Usually, walking around the city in the early morning cleared Nick's head, Today, not so much. He'd ended up just as confused as he started. So now he was sitting at a little café, eating breakfast, and attempting to plan with David and Cassie (both Millie and Kira had opted to sleep instead). "So now how are we supposed to find this guy- Griffin?"

"I don't know." David shook his head. "I used to know where he lived, but I'm willing to bet he moved."

Cassie looked between the two of them. "You're both idiots, you know? We can just use a sniffer to find him." She was glad they'd explained the various powers to David beforehand.

"Well that's all well and good Cassie, but we don't know any sniffers." Nick sighed.

Cassie rolled her eyes at Nick. "I know a sniffer. Just give him a day to get here (he doesn't like people knowing where he is at any given time), and he can find anyone, anywhere in the world. The only catch is, he needs something that used to belong to them."

David looked up. "I know where we can find something."

Oo0oO

David ended up jumping them to the sight of Griffin's previous lair. He wasn't sure that it'd still be there, but he had a feeling.

His feeling ended up being right. The lair may have been mostly empty, but it was there. And there was a couple things left behind. "Take your pick." He spread his arms wide. "He isn't coming back for this stuff; everything he would have taken is already gone."

Cassie walked around the lair, a curious expression flitting across her face. "He lived here by himself?"

"Yeah." David nodded, glancing around. "There used to be more stuff. A couch, TV…that whole wall" He gestured to the side, "was dedicated to the Paladins, and everything he knew about them."

"I got what we need." Cassie said suddenly. "We should leave. Being here…doesn't feel right."

David nodded, heading out of the cave. Cassie made to follow, but was stopped by Nick. "Hey…you okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded, a said smile slipping onto her face. "I just…I feel bad for him, is all."

Oo0oO

**Disclaimer: I only own the idea. And Adrien Ansdorff. And the first person that tries to steal him is dead. Because however evil and sick and twisted he may be, he is hands down the best bad guy I have ever created.**

** A/N: I feel like there's an ulterior motive to my characters that I don't yet know. It's annoying. Please review? **


	7. Searching for Forgiveness

"_You__ can't undo anything you've already done, but you can face up to it. You can tell the truth. You can seek forgiveness. And then let God do the rest.__"_

-Tertullian Quotes

Oo0oO

Waiting. When you're waiting for something, time seems to go even slower than normal. It drags on, each second taking a century to pass.

David has never been a patient person, but sitting here on Nick's couch, he feels an even greater impatience settle around him. But impatience isn't the only thing he feels. There's a sense of dread forming in him, a deep rooted dread that had been waiting for its time ever since he threw Griffin into the electrical tower.

He isn't sure how you apologize for something like that. Especially not to someone like Griffin; someone who already didn't like him.

It didn't matter though. If they wanted Griffin to work with them, he was going to have to apologize.

"He's here." Cassie shot up from where she had sprawled out on the floor, going to the door. "Hey, Prop." She opened the door wider, allowing someone in.

This someone turned out to be a man- boy, really- who couldn't possibly be a day over 18. He had spiky black hair, pale skin and a slim body. He has black skinny jeans, chucks, a blue t-shirt, and a black leather jacket on. His eyes flickered over the group, taking everyone in. David was sitting on the couch, gently carding his fingers through Millie's hair. Millie was lying across the couch with her head in David's lap. Nick and Kira were both seated a Nick's kitchen table, coffee in front of them.

The boy tilted his head up and breathed in deeply. "Why am I here, Cas?"

Cassie sighed. "We need you to find us a guy. We have no idea where he is; he could be anywhere in the world. Here." She handed him the papers they'd taken from Griffin's lair. "These were his."

He took the papers, turning them over in his hand, and slowly brought them to his face. He took in another breath. "Sand…you took these from sand?"

"Yeah." Nick said, getting up. "I'm Nick, by the way. This is Kira," He motioned to each person in turn, "David, Millie…and you already know Cassie."

The boy- Prop- ignored Nick, turning towards Cassie. "The scent is old, but it's there. I can work with it."

"Good." She said, before she suddenly went still. She remained motionless for a second, before grabbing her notebook and sketching.

When she was done, she slammed the notebook on the coffee table.

"What is it?" Nick asked, staring at the drawing. There was a line down the center of the page; on one side, two people (girls?), on the other, 6 people- but two of them, a guy and a girl, were dead.

"Millie. Kira. You can't come with us to find Griffin." Cassie turned towards them. "If you do, you" she motioned towards Millie, "and David will die. I don't know who will kill you, but you'll die. You guys need to stay here."

"But-"

"No buts." Cassie said, turning towards Kira. "I'm sorry." She shrugged. "I don't know why you can't come."

Kira scowled. "Fine." She stormed off deeper into the apartment. After a moment's hesitation, and a kiss from David, Millie followed her.

"So how does this work with you?" Nick asked, turning towards Prop. "All the sniffer's I've known have done it differently."

Prop didn't answer, choosing to instead just keep his head tilted back, eyes closed. As David, Nick, and Cassie watched, he started turning in a circle, eyes still closed. Suddenly, he stopped. "Inthishemisphereupperhalfofu nitedstatesnortheast." He took a deep breath.

"…what?" David asked. Nick also looked confused.

Cassie smiled. "He said 'in this hemisphere, upper half of united states, northeast'. Right?"

Prop nodded, breathing deeply. "I narrowed it down to Washington, Montana, or Idaho."

"So how will we know for sure?" Nick asked.

"Get me over there and I can get a better reading." Prop said. It was then that both Nick and David realized that not only had Prop never actually met their eyes, but that they didn't know what color they were.

Nick looked at Cassie, eyebrow raised, silently communicating his question. Cassie shook her head at him.

"You're curious what my eyes look like." Prop stated. Nick jumped.

"How did you-"

"You're not as subtle as you'd like to think." Prop said, walking over to the window. "Are you sure you want to see?"

"Yes." David said, before anyone else had time to respond.

"Alright." Prop said, turning around and staring at them. They both tried not to start in shock. Prop's eyes were a bright, electric blue, but they seemed to swirl with other colors as well. Grey, bottle glass, sky, ice; all different shades of blue swirled in his eyes. "An experiment of the Division's. Test tube child. Apparently, you cannot try and alter how someone sees the world without slight…consequences."

"Can you see?" David asked. Cassie rolled her eyes at his lack of tact.

Prop sighed, a slightly sardonic laugh coming out. "Yes, I can see. Not the same way you see, but I can see all the same. He reached on his pocket, pulling out a pair of shades and putting them on. "We should go."

Oo0oO

Adrian. David. Adrian. David. It was a never-ending loop in his head. Adrian. David. The two faces melded together. Adrian. David. Roland. Roland rarely came to mind anymore; not after Adrian had told him he was dead. After all, for however much he hated Roland, Roland never would have allowed the Paladins to join the Division. Adrian. David. Division. Millie. All the names blurred together in the pain. Shit. Where was the fucking morphine?

Oo0oO

David ended up jumping them to an abandoned potato farm in the upper half of Idaho. Once they got there, Prop went about doing his thing. He ended up wandering far enough away that Nick felt it was safe to ask Cassie questions about him.

"Division experimented on him?" Was the first thing Nick had to ask.

"He hasn't told me the details." Cassie said, staring at where Prop had wandered off to. "I found him not long after I turned 17. He was 14 at the time." David nodded; that made sense, because that would make Prop 18 now.

"And his name is Prop?"

"No." Cassie shook her head. "That's my nickname for him. He didn't have a name, but I'd just read that book 'The Thief Lord', and then he read it, and then he named himself Prospero. So I nicknamed him Prop."

"Oh." Nick looked like he was going to ask another question, but by that point Prop had come back.

"Montana. Northern Montana. In the mountains."

Oo0oO

**A/N: Okay, so first off: FireflyCity, the chapter I told you about is actually chapter 7. Just felt like telling you. Anyways…I only got two reviews on the last chapters :'( Please review people? **


	8. Scars aren't Just Skin Deep

"_Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person's throat...Forgiveness does not create a relationship. Unless people speak the truth about what they have done and change their mind and behavior, a relationship of trust is not possible."_

-Wm. Paul Young, 'The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity'

Oo0oO

It took them several more hurs before Prop successfully located the entrance to the save; the entrance which was hidden by a waterfall. And standing at the entrance, David paused. Facing Griffin wasn't going to be easy. But he needed to do it.

Oo0oO

David wasn't really sure what he was expecting when he entered Griffin's new lair. A TV, videogames, maybe an angry, ranting Griffin.

What he didn't expect was to see Griffin lying across what appeared to be a bed, one hand behind his head, the other on his stomach. What he didn't expect to see was a multitude of bruises and scars, all in different stages of healing, littering Griffin's bare chest. What he didn't expect to see was his face on Griffin's hunting wall.

Maybe he should've expected that last one.

Nick looked at him, eyebrow raised as he gestured to Griffin lying on the bed, his eyes silently asking 'is that him'? David nodded in the affirmative, before clearing his throat, trying to get Griffin's attention.

It took several tries before he actually got Griffin's attention, which should have been alarming in and of itself; after all, Griffin was the most alert person he knew.

When he finally did get Griffin's attention, he half expected him to jump away. Which is probably why he lunged forward, ready to follow him wherever he tried to go.

But Griffin didn't just. He just stared at David with hollow eyes.

And so David stopped moving, staring at Griffin. Or what used to be Griffin. This…this shell in front of them wasn't the Griffin he knew. He wasn't even the Griffin he'd seen a couple of days ago at the Empire State Building.

This Griffin was broken.

And that thought was cemented in David's mind when Griffin collapsed.

Oo0oO

_Pain. He remembered the electricity coursing through his veins as David threw him in the electrical tower. He remembered feeling fear for the first time; fear that is parents would go unavenged._

_ He remembered anger. A white-hot, burning anger that consumed him._

_ He didn't know how long he was stuck in the electrical tower. It could have been days, or weeks, or months. He remembers wondering if he was going to die, and wishing he could have at least taken a couple Paladins down with him._

_ He remembers seeing the vans drive up, big black SUVs, and people in suits coming out. He remembers feelings relieved; Paladins didn't look like these people, and he didn't see Roland with them_

_ He remembers how wrong he was to feel relieved._

_ Flash forward a couple days. Adrian Ansdorff is running the show now, and he does things very differently than Roland. They don't just kill him. They take him to some place called The Division (what the hell is that?), and strapped some weird looking bracelets on him. _

_ The electricity wears off, but he finds he still can't jump. AT first, he fears they've done something to him, but then it dawns on him; the bracelets. He can feel the tingling; they have electricity in them._

_ It takes them 8 days, 4 hours and 33 minutes to decide what they need to do with him; which plan is the most effective._

_ Those numbers stick in his head when they strap him to the table._

_ He sees them illuminated in blood in his mind when the start to cut him open._

_ He feels them when they decide to inject him with a trial drug._

_ It takes them roughly 22 days to change tactics; he can't keep as well of a count when he doesn't know how long he's out, and he refuses to ask anyone- he refuses to speak._

_ They start attaching all sorts of shit to his body. And then they make him jump._

_ Well, they try, at least. But he doesn't give in for 26 days, 2 hours and 29 minutes. Even with torture. _

_ He can't help but wonder if Adrian Ansdorff was a Chinese interrogator in another life._

_ It would make sense._

_ He's not sure which is worse; the burning, or the cutting, or the poking and prodding and staring and goddamn questions that he knows they know he won't answer._

_ The only thing that keeps him going is his rage. At Roland, and Adrian, at David, at David's little girlfriend, and at the world at large. _

_ And, after three months of Adrian, he's kept going by another emotion, brought on by Adrian telling him that he'd be here for the rest of his unnatural life._

_ Fear._

Oo0oO

"What's wrong with him?" Is the first thing out of Cassie's mouth when Nick, Prop, and David walk in, carrying an unconscious Griffin between them.

"Electricity rush. Too much electricity in our bodies fucks with our systems and then we can't jump." David explained, setting Griffin down on the empty couch.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Cassie asked, worried. (The other two girls were still out; David hadn't really wanted Griffin and Millie to interact just yet).

"I don't know." David shrugged, feeling guilt crashing down on him yet again. "I don't know."

Oo0oO

**A/N: I really apologize. I know Griffin seems OOC ish. Also, I'm sorry this chapter is so…weird. It wasn't how I planned it. I did not plan for more than half the chapter to be in Griffin's mind. But I wanted to explain why he was so OOC.**

** Also, I'm Chinese, and I didn't mean any offense to the whole Chinese interrogator thing. It just popped in my head.**

** AND I GOT A CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK QUOTE WEDGED IN THERE!**

** Please review?**


	9. A New Variable of Fear

"_People are supposed to fear the unknown, but ignorance is bliss when knowledge is so damn frightening."_  
-Laurell K. Hamilton, 'The Laughing Corpse'

Oo0oO

It had been exactly 4 days, 3 hours and 15 minutes, and still Griffin hadn't woken up.

David counted.

He hated waiting. Waiting gave him time to think about what he'd done, about what could have happened to Griffin…

They'd inspected Griffin's chest while he was unconscious, and had found some rather disturbing things. There were lacerations all over it, but the most noticeable would be two long (maybe 7 inch) cuts- scars, really- that ran down his chest on either side. Besides those, however, they counted at least 18 (they stopped counting after that) various little cuts; this not even commenting on the bruises, burns, and other marks.

Another disturbing discovery; underneath the bandages wrapped around his abdomen (right above where his pants sat), Griffin had a set of (rather messy) stitches.

David and Nick had done their best to clean him up and bandage him up, put him back in his leather jacket, but they couldn't fix everything.

And now they waited.

And waited.

And a fear that maybe things wouldn't work out started to creep into their hearts.

Oo0oO

It had started out looking almost like any other meeting. There was a man, tall and professional looking, sitting at the head of the 8 seated table, his hair slicked back and a Rolex shining on his wrist.

To his right was a sharp, cold, and calculating looking woman, her hair pulled back into a tight bun, a couple folders spread out in front of her.

To his left was a professional looking black man, a briefcase perched on the empty seat next to him.

On the other end of the table were the three who didn't quite fit. Two of the men wore suits; however, their build and mannerisms made them seem more like dumb brutes, as did the various collection of bruises on their faces.

The real oddball, however, was the occupant opposite the first man. A young man, he couldn't be much older than 24. He had long brown hair, a leather jacket, shades, ripped jeans, and a pair of chucks. Out of all the occupants in the room, he looked the most at easy, inspecting his fingernails as he leaned back in his chair, feet perched on the table.

"What. The fuck. HAPPENED?!" Adrian- the man at the head of the table- screamed, slamming his hands on the table, his voice reverberating throughout the small room.

The table shook, mirroring most of its occupants. The boy, however, did not, and simply continued inspecting his fingernails as he spoke. "You didn't tell me he would be expecting us." He spoke with a mixed accent, equal parts Boston and Brooklyn.

"He shouldn't have been." Adrian growled, glaring daggers at the boy. The boy didn't even flinch.

"He sure seemed like he was."

This comment seemed to drive Adrian over the edge. As the other occupants of the table watched, he became a violent purple shade, before slowly relaxing (slightly). "He wasn't. Maybe you're just not as good as you seem, R."

That comment got the boys attention. As everyone watched, he simultaneously slammed his chair on the ground, stood up, and made a swiping motion with his hand, causing everything on the table to go flying. His voice was dangerously low when he spoke, his accent so prominent he was hard to understand. "Maybe I'm not as good as I say I am? That man was expecting us. I help you because I feel like it. I don't, however, have to take orders from you, _Adrian_. So maybe think about that before you question my skill. I will walk out on you." He yanked his shades off, revealing livid eyes; eyes with a mix of red and black. Everyone in the room- with the exclusion of Adrian- flinched. "I don't even know _why_ I help you, after what you did." His eyes met Adrian's, and a staring match ensued. Adrian, however, could only hold his gaze for a couple moments before he had to look away, flinching as he did so.

Adrian took a deep breath before sighing, bringing his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Alright. I know what you want; I'll look in to it, but don't expect much. You two-" he motioned towards the thugs, before motioning towards the mess that the briefcase and folders were in, "clean this mess up. You two-" he glanced at the people on either side of him, "come with me. We have work to do. I trust you'll see yourself out, R?"

"Of course." R smirked.

Oo0oO

**A/N: It's depressing when you go to write the next chapter of a story and then you realized you don't have a page for it…**

**Not how I expected this chapter to go. I wanted a confrontation! I had one planned…..and then this happened. And I know that the quote only sort of fits…..Please review?**

Disclaimer: I only own the idea. The title belongs to FireflyCity, cover image to whoever posted it on the internet. But I do also own Adrian Ansdorff. And the first person that tries to steal him is dead. Because however evil and sick and twisted he may be, he is hands down the best bad guy I have ever created. So steal him, and "I will find you. And I will kill you." To quote Liam Neeson.


	10. Burning

"_Holding__ on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."_

-The Buddha

Oo0oO

Griffin had been passed out on their couch for 6 days now.

David couldn't help but be worried. He didn't know what he'd do if Griffin didn't wake up. Sitting at the dinette staring at Griffin's limp figure, he couldn't help but wonder what had really happened.

"Hey Nick?" He asked. Nick, sitting across from him, looked up.

"Yeah?"

"Has Cassie seen anything new lately?" David questioned.

Nick shook his head. The girl in question was absent, as she'd often been over the last couple days. She'd reappear at night, but during the day she was off somewhere, doing her own thing. Millie and Kira, not wanting to be there when the shit hit the fan (and Griffin finally woke up), both spent most of their time touring the city; Millie liked New York City.

"What're we gonna do if he doesn't wake up?" David asked, looking over at Nick.

Nick shrugged, looking at Griffin. "I don't know."

Oo0oO

It was a decrepit little building, wedged in between a couple random other buildings. A building easy to miss in a city like New York. But to Cassie, it was home.

Going up to the building, she pulled out a key, unlocking the door. Slipping into the hallway, she immediately turned and locked the door. Turning around, she smiled. The long, empty hallway led to three different doors. To her left was a set of stairs, to her right, another door. All were empty and bare looking.

Making her way down the hallway, she stopped, hearing a noise. Tilting her head to the side, she frowned. It sounded like it was coming from- behind her! Her instincts kicked in, and she moved without thinking.

Whipping around, she found herself face to face with a very familiar looking black handgun, as well as a set of distinctly violet eyes.

Oo0oO

David was sitting by himself at the table when it happened. One minute, everything was peaceful. The next, it all went to shit.

Nick was in his room at the time, so David was reading a book he borrowed. He didn't notice the noise at first. The rustle of a leather jacket, or the creak of the sofa. What he did hear, though, was that British accent.

"Where the hell am I?"

David immediately looked up from his book, and found himself face to face with an angry looking Griffin, leaning against the wall.

"Should you be up? Your injuries and all…" Standing up, David trailed off, his eyes flickering over Griffin's chest. Noticing this, Griffin crossed his arms.

"I've been up and around with worse." A sardonic tinge crept into his voice. "You didn't answer my question, David. Where the hell am I, and why the fuck am I here?"

David sighed, staring into Griffin's eyes, searching for some sort of emotion other than anger- forgiveness, maybe? But there was nothing. Just pain and anger. "This is the apartment of a friend of mine. If you let me go get him, we can expl-"

"Making more friends, are you?" Griffin walked back into the living room, his voice taking on a mocking, sarcastic edge. "Hope you don't treat them like you did me."

"I'm sorry." David said, staring beseechingly at Griffin. All he got back was a stare full of anger.

"You're sorry? Well I guess that makes everything better, doesn't it. Everything's fucking perfect because you're _sorry_. Never mind that you left me in an electrical tower for god knows how long. Never mind that I spent _four months_ with the Division, _no_, everything's fine now that you've apologized!" Griffin spun around to face David again. Taking note of David's partially shocked face, he scoffed. "You actually thought that by apologizing you'd make everything better, didn't you. Never mind the consequences of what you did before. 'Cause trust me, it's not that I don't believe you. I bet you _are _sorry." Griffin paused for a moment, running his fingers through his hair.

At this point, Nick had made his way back into the living area. Standing in the doorway, he stared at Griffin.

"This is Nick." David said, inclining his head towards Nick. "Nick, this is Griffin."

"So now you're introducing us like you're my friend again, huh?" Griffin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Okay then. Nick," he inclined his head towards Nick, "this is the asshole that left me to die in an electrical tower." Turning back towards David, he smirked, sarcasm evident in his voice. "Nice seeing you again, Davey. If I ever see you again, I will kill you." With that, he jumped.

"Shit!" David, in a split instant, grabbed Nick's arm and followed him.

Oo0oO

**A/N: What the hell just happened…? I did not expect that anymore than you did. Honestly. This story kinda just writes itself, and I'm just along for the ride. I'm now thoroughly disappointed with my confrontation. Which might be why there will be more of them.**

**By the way, I only got two reviews on the last chapter. Are the only people reading this FireflyCity and BlackWolfe? Last time I got a review other than from them was in like Chapter 2…It says I have 11 followers though…**

** Thanks to BlackWolfe and FireflyCity for reviewing. Anyone else reading, give thanks to them too, because if they weren't reading this story I would give up out of sheer frustration because I'm at war with this story.**

** Sorry for any OOCness. **


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